Family Sues Hertz, Driver For Accident

August 20, 1985

TITUSVILLE — Relatives of a St. Cloud woman killed in a car accident in Cocoa Beach in March have sued the Hertz Corp. and the driver of the car that pulled in front of a motorcycle she was riding, court records show.

Dewayne E. Byrd, 49, of California, pleaded no contest Aug. 5 to manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing. Byrd was driving a 1985 Ford, owned by the Hertz Corp., east on State Route A1A when he turned into the path of a motorcycle, killing Walter Haskard, 39, 905 Beaverdale Ave., Rockledge, and Lorraine J. Dawson, 29, of St. Cloud.

Byrd and his passenger, Karen D. Kerr, 31 Cape Shore Drive, Cape Canaveral, were treated and released from Cape Canaveral Hospital shortly after the accident March 2.

According to the suit filed in Brevard Circuit Court, the representative of Dawson's estate seeks more than $5,000 in damages for medical and funeral expenses and loss of wages, along with physical and emotional distress suffered by Dawson's three children, ages 9, 10 and 12.

The representative, Thelma Herrod, also claims in the suit that Byrd negligently operated the car and was driving under the influence of alcohol.